Golf club



Sept. 19, 1933.

H. K. B. DAVIS 1,927,083

GOLF CLUB Filed Nov. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR M ATTORNEY H. K. B. DAVIS Sept. 19, 1933.

GOLF CLUB Filed Nov. 16, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet ,2

LOFI- 35 IUV6lE-2 50 AME-550" H. K. B. DAVIS Sept. 19, 1933.

GOLF CLUB Filed Nov. 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 W M ATTORNEY A ES PATENT ama's? GOLF CLUB Henry K. B. Davis, Holyoke, Mass., assignor to Mavis Machine Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 16, 1929 Serial No. 407,619

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to golf clubs and more particularly to iron heads for lofted clubs.

It is customary, at the present time; to 'sell golf clubs as sets or matched sets comprising a series of lofted clubs with'iron heads and a putt er. The putter is not termed a lofted club and, hence, when the words lofted club are used herein they are intended to include iron heads other than putters. The lofted clubs are of various degrees-of pitch, thus enabling the player to project the ball to a range of desired distances with a similar stroke. 111. all of these clubs, particularly the lofted clubs, thewidth of the blade of the club is substantially greater at the toe than at the heel and the degree of divergence between the top and the sole lines in-. creases as the degree of loft increases. When av player addresses a ball, the sole line of the blade should be substantially parallel to the ground and substantially perpendicular. to the direction of play. Due to the fact thatthe sole line is at the bottom of the blade and is usually enveloped by grass, it is difficult to position the club with respect to this portion of the blade. With present clubs, the top line of the blade is at a substantial angle to the groundand to the sole line, due to the increased width of the blade at the toe. Furthermore, the top line of the blade is not perpendicular to the direction of play when the club isproperly positioned; the greater the loft of the club the further the top line departs from a true perpendicular to the direction of play. The result is that difficulty is experienced in positioning the club. with respect to the ball. The player cannot see the sole of the club and the top of the blade has no definite relation to the sole or tothe direction of play; hence, the player must rely upon judgment in playing the shot rather than rely upon anaccurateaim or guide with the top line of the club. No two clubs of a set appear to have the same relation to the ball and the ground when viewed by the player. acquired by experience; fails to master the game because he has no defie nite aim or guide in playing his iron shots. Even experienced golfers attempt to position the club by getting the top line perpendicular to the direction of play. In such cases, the ball is driven too far to the leftbecause the face of the blade is not perpendicular to the direction of play.

The present invention aims to'overcome these difliculties 'by providing Good judgment is usually inherent or is hence, the average golfer.

iron heads for lofted clubs, wherein the distribution of metal is such that there is a definite relation between the top and sole lines of the blade and between the top line of the blade and the direction of play, thereby giving a pleasing appearance and affording a definite guide for the player properly to posi tion the club while addressing the ball, without affecting the proper balance of the clubs.

An object of the invention is to provide an inexpensive iron head for lofted clubs with. the

metal therein distributed to afford proper bal 6 ance without marring the appearance thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an iron head for a lofted club which issubstantially symmetrical about a line passing through the center of the blade substantially perpendicular to the sole line.

Another object of the invention is to provide an iron head for a golf club, the top line of the face of the head being adapted to form an accurate guide for the player addressing the ball.

Another object of the invention is to provide a series of iron heads, of different loft and lie, with the top line of the blade perpendicular to the direction of play irrespective of the degree of loft of the club.

Another object ofthe invention is tov provide a lofted iron head for a golf club having sub stantially parallelrtop and sole lines.

Another object of the invention is to distribute 8 the metal in iron heads properly by increasing the thickness of the blade at the toe thereof and maintaining the Width of the facesubstantially constant. a y I Another object of the invention is toimprove the balance and proper distribution of metal by cutting away part of the blade adjacent the shaft. I

. Another object of the invention is to provide a setof lofted clubs having iron heads which enablethe player to address the ball properly,

Withoutguessing at the position of the club, by

, will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about tobe described, or will be'indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description and is shown in the accompanying ent invention; and

Figs. 6 and 7 are front and end elevational views, respectively, of the clubs shown in Fig. 5.

Referring again to the drawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a golf club comprising an iron head 1 secured to a shaft 2 in the usual manner. The face 4 of the club may be lofted or inclined to any desired extent, depending upon the type of shot that is desired. The top line 5 of the face is substantially parallel to the sole line 6 thereof. The slight divergence, illustrated as five degrees, fifty minutes, of the top and sole lines toward the toe 7 of the club is for the purpose of correcting the optical illusion occasioned by the player viewing the head in perspective when addressing the ball. In other words, if the top and sole lines were truly parallel, the toe of the club would, when viewed by a player ready to address the ball, appear to be more narrow than the heel of the head. The divergence of these lines is sufficient to make these lines appear parallel and to make the top line of the blade appear to be perpendicular to the direction of play. This gives a definite relation between the top line of the club and the direction of play which, in the present invention, is independent of the degree of loft.

As the loft of the club is increased or decreased, the divergence of the lines should be changed to correct for the changed perspective. The divergence of the lines toward the toe of the head decreases as the loftof the club increases in order to correct for the angle at which the player views the head, as will be shown hereinafter.

It is desirable to have the sweet spot, that is, substantially the center of gravity of the club, substantially at its geometric center. This may be achieved by cutting away a part'of the metal at the point 8 where the top line 5 of the head is about to merge into the shaft engaging part thereof. This cutaway portion 8 not only reduces substantially the weight of the metal at the heel of the club but also enhances the appearance of the club. 1 The distribution of the metal may be further equalized, if desired, by increasing the thickness of the blade toward the toe of the head, as shown more clearly in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Generally, the cutaway portion 8 is, sufiicient to create the proper balance, as indicated more particularly in Figs. 1, 2, 4, thickness throughout the length of the blade is substantially constant along'any horizontal line.

It is customary to linescore the face of the club, as shown at 9 in Fig. 1, or to punch mark the face, as shown at 11) in Fig. 4. In the present construction, the score lines are not exactly parallel but diverge slightly as they approach the 5, 6 and 7, wherein the toe of the blade in order to create the same optical illusion that is afforded by the slight divergence of the top and sole lines 5 and 6 of the blade. If desired, however, the score lines may be parallel to the sole of the club. While the face of the club may be marked in any desired manner, preferably the face is lined both vertical y and horizontally, as shown at 11 in Figs. 5, 6 and '7. This gives a better appearance and accentuates the relation of the top line of the club as a guide a for the player in aiming the shot.

A series or set of lofted golf clubs with iron.

heads usually comprises from six to ten clubs. There is shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7, a series of clubs, here illustrated as three for convenience, it being understood that the usual number or any desired number may be included in the series or set. Each of the clubs varies a substantial amount in the degree of loft from the other clubs. It will be noted in Fig. 5, however, that the faces of the clubs in either instance appear to be of equal width throughout and that the top lines 5 appear to be parallel to the sole lines 6 and perpendicular to the direction of play in all cases. In other words, the top line appears to be parallel to the sole line and perpendicular to the direction of play when viewed by a player who is holding one of the clubs about to address the ball. In playing the ball, the blade, if properly positioned, would move as indicated by the arrow 12 in Fig. 5, which points to the intended destination of the ball, the pitch of the ball being determined by the loft of the blade. In all cases,'the direction of play will appear to be perpendicular to the top line 5 of the blade, as indicated by the arrow 13. Accordingly, the player can accurately position the face of the club with respect to the ball and to the direction the ball is to be played, by utilizing the top line of the blade as a guide and endeavoring to keep the top line of the blade perpendicular to the direction of play. As

a matter of fact, the top and solelines are not truly parallel but diverge slightly to give the proper illusion when viewed in perspective, as illustrated in Fig. 5, so that the top line appears to be parallel to the direction of play.

In Figs. 6 and 7, corresponding front and end views are shown in order to illustrate the varia tion in the divergence of the top and sole lines of theclub in accordance with the degree of loft. It will be noted that the greater the loft of the club, the less the amount of divergence between the top and bottom of the face of the club. The reason for this is that the more nearly horizontal the face of the club becomes, the less divergence is required to correct for the optical illusion created by the face being viewed in perspective by the player. 7

While substantial variation can be made with out losing the advantages of the invention, the following variations in the angle of divergence for the respective irons have been found to give excellent results and are, therefore, given as illustrative herein Anglo of divergence between top and solo lines Number of iron Loft lustrated at 14.

6 and '7. Their lofts are twenty degrees, thirtyflve degrees and fifty degrees respectively, as il- The angles of divergenceare illustrated as five degrees fifty minutes, four degrees twenty minutes, and two degrees fifty minutes respectively. The angles represent the angle the top and sole lines make with each other measured in the plane of the face of the blade.

It will be understood that the top and sole line of the club are not truly straight but slightly curved. In some instances, the top line is curved I to a. very marked degree, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Such clubs are constructed so that they are substantially symmetrical about a perpendicular center line. Preferably, the toe of the club is very slightly wider than the heel to correct for the optical illusion when viewed by the player,thereby to make the toe and heel appear to be symmetrical about a vertical center line.

The cutaway portion 8, at the junction of the blade with the shaft part of the club, is intended to give proper balance to the club. If it is desired to increase further the relative weight at the toe of the club this portion may be thicker, as shown at 15 in Fig. 3. By increasing the thickness of the blade at the toe or decreasing the thickness at the heel, the sweet spot may be fixed at any desired point. The cutaway portion 8 may be utilized with or without the change in thickness for the same purpose.

In addressing the ball, the player, by reason of the fact that the top line of the head .is substantially parallel to the sole line, can accurately position the club by aiming the top line of the blade perpendicular to the direction of play. The distribution of the metal, being occasioned by increasing the thickness of the toe of the head and by the artistic cutaway portion 8, prevents the club from appearing clumsy and gives it that symmetrical appearance which is pleasing to the eye. The slight decrease in weight at the toe of the club, due to the relative decrease in width, actually gives a better balance than in-clubs having a toe wider than the heel to place the center of gravity at the geometric center of the face of the club.

It will be seen that the present invention provides an inexpensive construction wherein the cumbersome appearance of existing clubs is eliminated and the difilculty occasioned in properly positioning iron heads with respect to a ball being played, is minimized. The top line of the blade is accentuated by the face marking and serves as an accurate guide for the player, since it is perpendicular to the direction of play in all instances and independent of the loft of the club. The heads are easily manufactured, strong, durable, and fully capable of withstanding the rough usage to which they may be subjected.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense. It is to be understood also that in usingv the word set there is no intention of limiting the claims to any particular number of clubs in the sets.

' Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A lofted metal head for a golf club, the face of which has the top and sole lines substantially parallel but diverging toward the toe of the club an amount depending upon the loft of the head to make the top and sole lines appear to be parallel when viewed by a player about to address a ball.

2. A lofted metal head for a golf club, the face of which has the top and sole line appearing to be parallel when viewed by a player about to address the ball, and a V-shaped cutaway portion at the junction of the top line and the shaft part of the head to improve the appearance and to decrease the amount of metal at the heel of the club.

3. A lofted metal head for a golf club, the top and sole lines thereof being substantially parallel but diverging slightly toward the toe to cause the top line to appear parallel to the sole' line and perpendicular to the direction of play when viewed by a player holding the club in position to address the ball and having a V- shaped cutaway portion at the junction of the shaft and head.

4. A golf club having a metal head with a loft greater than twenty degrees, the top and sole lines of which are substantially parallel but diverge slightly toward the toe to cause the top line to appear parallel to the sole line and perpendicular to the direction of play when viewed by a player in perspective when about to address the ball, the amount of said divergence decreasing as the loft of the club increases.

5. A lofted golf club comprising a shaft, a metal head secured to said shaft, the top and sole lines of the face of said head being substantially parallel but diverging toward the toe of the club an amount. depending upon the loft of the club to cause the 'top and sole lines to appear parallel when viewed by a player about to address the ball.

6. As an article of manufacture, a golf club comprising a lofted metal head with a loft greater than twenty degrees, a shaft attached thereto, the upper and lower edges of the striking surface of the head diverging slightly to cause said upper and lower edges to appear parallel to a player when the club is held in position to address a ball.

HENRY K. B. DAVIS. 

